PSA: Double charged round

[whacamole]

In my latest round of reloading, working carefully, I measured out a charge and added it to the case and it spilled out all over, making a big mess. I had just double-charged a round. I was fortunate that the powder overflow made my mistake immediately obvious. The consequences of not discovering this until trying it out at the range are terrifying.

I reload for several calibers and this is the first time I can remember ever double-charging a round.

One of the several reasons I elected to try Blue Dot was because it has substantially lower bulk density than most of the popular powders for 5.7x28mm, like Ramshot True Blue and Accurate No. 5. The Hodgdon recommended starting loads with those powders, for example, would not overflow a 5.7x28mm case on a double charge, and even the maxloads might not obviously overflow if you aren't paying attention. I read about people experimenting with reduced loads, too, which makes this even more of an issue.

If you are using a powder with high bulk density, or if you feel you must experiment with reduced charge loads, it's a profoundly good idea to have some additional step in your process that can detect a double-charged round. Just sayin'...

[Rapier1772]

I've introduced an inspection step when reloading in bulk for that reason. I double charged a load which was meant to be a subsonic, which are basically half loads anyway. It ended up above the max I was comfortable loading but no damage to me or the gun, thankfully.
When loading a tray of rounds and after all have their powder loads, I do a quick inspection into each from above with a flashlight. Anything that looks off is rechecked. I haven't found another yet but still doing it.

[towerofpower93]

If loading in lots of 50 using a tray, I do the same post-powder inspection with a flashlight. Obviously not a fine-tuned measuring device, but the Mk 1 eyeball is good enough to detect a massive difference in the height of the powder in a brass case like one would get with a double charge of a dense powder that won't overflow.

[panzermk2]

The tray and flashlight is a great way, and about the oldest way to check for double loads.

This is were loading blocks are a lifesaver.

[Shotty]

I start with 2 empty 50 spot case trays. As I prime 50 cases I place them primer up in one of the trays. I then throw and weigh a charge, grab one of the primed cases turn it neck up and and dump the charge in. The charged shell is then placed in the other empty case tray. I dont touch the charged cases again until I am ready to seat bullets. So far so good.

[Grantness]

I charge and seat one cartridge at a time. I can’t remember the last time I loaded 5.7 w/o weighing every charge either.

[whacamole]

I place them primer up in one of the trays. I then throw and weigh a charge, grab one of the primed cases turn it neck up and and dump the charge in. The charged shell is then placed in the other empty case tray. I dont touch the charged cases again until I am ready to seat bullets. So far so good.

OK, so not to pick on you Shotty (and you have my thanks in advance for playing along here)... this is the problem I'm trying to illustrate. My procedure is exactly your procedure. Yet I still double-charged a case. It turns out I had a distraction immediately after I charged a case and before I put it in the empty case tray. By the time the distraction cleared a few seconds later, with the case still in my hand, my brain had already forgotten about the case being charged and instead went back to "OK, next step is dump powder into this case" (the next round of powder being ready automatically from the powder dispenser).

I charge and seat one cartridge at a time. I can’t remember the last time I loaded 5.7 w/o weighing every charge either.

Thanks, Grantness. The particular error I encountered would have happened even if I had charged and seated one cartridge at a time.

The issue I am encouraging people to think about and discuss is what additional step can you take to detect a double charge before the finished round gets loaded into a firearm - preferably even before the bullet gets seated.

quick inspection into each from above with a flashlight

post-powder inspection with a flashlight

The tray and flashlight is a great way

Yep, that's a good one. It's exactly what I'm talking about - a separate step that detects the problem even when your brain is 100% convinced you've executed the previous steps in the process without error.

You could also weigh each round. If you understand your expected round-to-round weight variation well enough, and if the charge weight is significantly greater than that variation, then double-charged rounds should be easy to detect. I'm not doing this myself, but I did weigh a bunch of cases just to have the statistics ready in case I decide do do this.

You perhaps could shake each case and listen to it. A half-full case should sound different than a full case, assuming that the difference between a good charge and an overcharge is audible and you trust your ears. They might feel different, too. This method won't help me because with Blue Dot my cases are nearly full anyways, but then again I have that spillage thing going for me. The 5.7x28mm case might be too small for this, though.

I haven't found another yet but still doing it

Even if you haven't made the mistake yourself, or haven't in a while, the fact that someone else in the community reported it should be counted as having committed the error yourself (or at least as having probably unknowingly narrowly avoided the error yourself). It's an opportunity to review your process and reinforce your good habits. Aircraft pilots do this when they read and internalize incident and accident reports (I suspect Toprudder may agree with me if he reads this).

[towerofpower93]

The real solution is to start loading on a 550 or 650

[Shotty]

I place them primer up in one of the trays. I then throw and weigh a charge, grab one of the primed cases turn it neck up and and dump the charge in. The charged shell is then placed in the other empty case tray. I dont touch the charged cases again until I am ready to seat bullets. So far so good.

OK, so not to pick on you Shotty (and you have my thanks in advance for playing along here)... this is the problem I'm trying to illustrate. My procedure is exactly your procedure. Yet I still double-charged a case. It turns out I had a distraction immediately after I charged a case and before I put it in the empty case tray. By the time the distraction cleared a few seconds later, with the case still in my hand, my brain had already forgotten about the case being charged and instead went back to "OK, next step is dump powder into this case" (the next round of powder being ready automatically from the powder dispenser).

Your not picking at all, this is serious stuff where a simple mistake can change lives. Distractions are the cause of many accidents. I forgot to put oil in a gearbox on 2 different occasions due to a distraction. There is a slight difference between our processes that helps protect me from myself. I have to manually throw a charge, weigh it, pick up a case and dump it in. There is no way for me to throw a charge without having both hands free.
I would love to have a decent auto powder dispenser, or even a good scale. Sadly I use 2 scales to help ensure my grains are right. Would you mind giving a quick review of your auto dispenser? I have seen so many reviews of different machines, and they all seem to have their issues. I will likely just get the Redding competition model 10x Pistol & Small Rifle Powder Measure instead of a fully auto dispenser. The Redding unit is designed to throw 1-25 grains which should be ideal for the 2 rounds I reload 5.7x28 and 300 blk sub.

[panzermk2]

The real solution is to start loading on a 550 or 650

550 I would agree,

650 not so much since there is not automated powder check system.


This post is a very important lesson about things that can go wrong. Shit happens. It's a cautionary tail about being careful and props to being honest and sticking your hand up and in pain staking detail share with everyone how you screwed up. Most folks gun egos would never let allow them to admit that.

[Shotty]

In case anyone is interested, I purchased the Redding competition 10X pistol and small rifle powder measure. The difference between it and the Lee unit I was using is night and day. Like any manual powder measure, the operator influences the accuracy. It can be a little tricky to set due to the slight backlash in the micrometer, but once it is set and locked it is very consistent as long as the operator does their job. I would say its repeatability is better than +-.5 grain per throw, but I cannot verify with my existing scales. I have done around 500 5.7 x 28 reloads with it so far, and I now only weigh every 10th or so charge.
I also went ahead and ordered a Magnetospeed chrono. Its time to start checking my 5.7 reloads and the 300 BO subsonic I am loading up.

[whacamole]

I'm using a Lyman Gen6 digital powder measure, which I like. I am finding it reliable and accurate and it doesn't take up much room on my bench. It measures to a precision of 0.1 grain. I also have a "Brifit" digital scale I got off of Amazon, precise to 0.02gr. I check both scales before each session with their included 50 gram reference weight to ensure accuracy. I have checked loads from the Lyman against the Brifit enough times that I am confident that the Lyman is repeatably accurate to +-0.05 grain (this is roughly 5 granules of Blue Dot) when measuring loads down in the 6.0gr-7.0gr range. Nevertheless, I remind myself that when the Lyman says it dropped 7.0 grains of powder, it might be on the verge of registering as a 7.1 grain load, and that stiction in the unit or even air currents could affect the reading. My rule is to make loads that are at least 0.2 grain below the maximum demonstrated safe load to account for these kinds of errors, and preferably even lower than that. I am not out to win bragging rights over feet per second - hats off to those with far greater experience than I who have figured out how to push those limits.

I find that the Lyman does a decent job of dropping the exact load that I dial in (e.g. if I dial in 7.0gr, I most often get 7.0gr). It's got enough smarts to slow down as it approaches the target weight, and to wait for the measurement to stabilize before announcing that it is done. Still, sometimes after it stops dropping and beeps that it is done, a few extra granules fall out of the dispenser tube and I end up 0.1 grain over the target. Also, sometimes it stops just a bit too early and I get 0.1 grain under the target. So I've learned to set it to 0.1gr under the target, and then I manually tap the dispenser tube if necessary to trickle out just a few more granules until I get the exact weight I want. When I do this, I have to wait a good 4-5 seconds to be sure the reading has stabilized. Internally, the unit seems to be calculating things with greater precision, and as granules drop the scale bounces, like a car going over a bump, so it has to wait for the measurement to settle down. This gets filtered out by the software and then quantized so you only see the value to 0.1gr precision, but if you're right near the 6.95gr boundary, you may see the value change from 7.0gr down to 6.9gr, and then maybe come back up, or not. You need to wait patiently for it to stabilize. Also, don't breathe on it. Also, be sure the scale surface remains free of powder granules during your reloading session. Also, be sure you don't bump the dispenser tube as you lift the powder funnel off the scale, or you may get another 0.1gr-0.2gr accidentally dropped into your charge.

I am not really verifying my scales correctly. A 50 gram (771.6 grains) reference weight is way heavier than the weight of the (powder funnel+powder). What's important is to confirm accuracy near the nominal operating point. So I have ordered the Lyman Reloading Scale Weight Check Set. I'll use that to confirm that a 10 grain weight actually measures 10.0 grains on the scale, and a 10 grain weight plus a 1 grain weight measures 11.0, and maybe a few other points down near 5 grains. This hasn't been an issue to date since I have elected to use the Lyman and only the Lyman as my source of truth. As long as it is consistent (which it appears to be by comparing to the Brifit), if 7.0 indicated grains is, say, 7.2 actual grains, but 7.0 indicated grains is a safe load, then I'm fine loading to 7.0 grains as long as I continue to use the Lyman. But I must not blindly assume that 7.0 grains measured on one scale will be 7.0 grains measured on another scale (and nobody here should be using my or anyone else's loads verbatim, you must do your own workup on your own equipment!)

Remember, of course, that my original point was not to be sure we all weigh our charges accurately. It was to advocate for putting some additional step or check in your process to ensure you don't overcharge a case. A good scale is necessary but insufficient to defend against the possibility of overcharging a case (e.g. by dumping in two accurately measured loads).